Personally I don’t believe that ‘cultured’ is a title that should be thrown at a person who speaks like the Queen and finishes piles of Penguins Classics. What thick, picture-less books can instil, I find can be instilled by watching even Courage the Cowardly Dog on Cartoon Network (a dark yet intelligently directed cartoon). Times are as such that even the most fundamental elements of media exposure, such as ‘toons’, have complex details that are actually meant to teach essential lessons or in the least lay out a foundation for it. For example, everybody knows the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but what most people don’t know is that the dark forest, with the tall, erect, bushy, dangerous trees, was meant to represent- (pick a guess!). I have to admit, I have willingly listened eagerly to quotes from numerous movies and TV shows instead of reading stacks of philosophy books and literature. It is actually quite offensive to only label certain pieces of performance art as being ‘authentic’. Whatever happened to ‘each is his own’? So yes, I think Azealia Banks and Lana Del Rey both make excellent music.
Culture & You Words By Charminda Dayasiri Taking the Communications course in the first semester,
I had to learn many definitions for the word ‘culture’. I am not going to lay out the lectures that spanned across the several weeks. But for the record, modern day culture is just about everything we engage in, ranging from our dining habits to how we say ‘hello’ on the phone. Everybody is aware that culture is something of importance. But if you really think about it, culture has become one of those things that has changed massively but has not been noticed by enough people.
Needless to say, here at Monash, there is a whole ensemble of cultures. What defines a cultured undergraduate in one nation differs from another nation. Although that is pretty much the basic idea, it is not a 100% exact. Given that the generation encompassing the majority of us undergraduates are from the same ‘era’, what needs to be realized is that all of us have been influenced by the west, or what has evolved to be ‘pop culture’- that is, the most popular practices. Why this is not a bad thing is because it is more or less the common string that holds us all together. 60 MonGa Issue #2 2013
One significant way of how culture has changed is by how it has been replaced by realism. Certain customs have been knocked out by scientific proof but what that bowling ball also took down was the only thing that actually mattered in the symbolic practice- Positivity. For example, no math can prove that eighteen is a lucky number, which is why 18 ingredients are used to prepare the Chinese dish Buddhist’s Delight. Likewise, no one has ever proven that a person died because he broke the long noodles used in this dish, which is usually used to represent longevity. It’s only the healthy positivity and moral support in it that actually counts. It is now 2013 and it is all about being futuristic. We could possibly be a few years away from avoiding the culture shock in most foreign places. Pop culture is the new black. The main disadvantage of losing traditional practices is that we’re losing the originality we rightfully claim ownership of. For example, back home in Sri Lanka, there is always a huge difference between store bought New Year treats and the homemade ones. Moreover, technology itself has begun to show originality. All sorts of techniques have been and are being invented to promote positivity, with a vibe that matches the present. Gone are the days where you would be judged for using the wrong fork at most dinner parties. Oh wait, then again you don’t really need a fork with pizza!
The Stalking Trash Can Words By Yong Jo Leen
Stalking
is not uncommon today. Quite often, we hear stories of people being stalked. Whether it is our friends, ourselves, or some strangers around the globe. Usually someone is stalked when a person we do not know gains access to our personal or private information, without notice. By right, nobody should have access to our private information, for instance, like the exact location of where one is staying. Undeniably, stalking is a serious issue, but what happens when a trash can stalks you? What if a trash can can observe your every move from a distance to make a profit? I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed for ideas on this ‘Opinion Issue’ of MonGa. I mean, I knew I wanted to write something about privacy, but I needed something to capture the attention of everyone, if not me. Then, I stumbled upon this news story about stalking trash cans in London, which was something I found interesting yet scary. So, I knew I had to write a piece on it. I thought it was interesting because I never knew that an “everyday” object could be so sophisticated to the extent that it could stalk people. Sources inform me that the trash cans were built and put in place in the city of London sometime around 2012 during the Summer Olympics. The 200 bins sprawled across the city are equipped with Wi-fi and LCD screens, therefore these trash cans are capable of tracking your whereabouts as long as you have a smartphone and are connected via Wi-fi to the Internet. These bins, dubbed as “smartbins”, then obtain your MAC address to access and measure the proximity, speed, duration as well as the manufacturer of your phone. As I delved deeper into the research on this topic, I found out that the company responsible for building these bins is a company called Renew. Based in London, this company created these bins in order to place ads of similar competitors so that both the company and the competitor can profit. Say, for instance, you are at KFC and you spend about half an hour there. These bins then use such information to create similar alternatives to KFC such as Burger King. Another way in which these bins can access your location is when it recognizes that you have been somewhere often or repeatedly. Take for example if you go to Starbucks, these bins can then show you ads on promotions happening at Starbucks.
“smartbins”, others expressed their concern. It is as if every move we make is being watched; we can no longer enjoy the privacy we used to have. These bins have only been operating since March of last year. Nevertheless, the fact that this issue is being highlighted only now left many smartphone users furious. Then again, some likened these stalking trash cans to traditional online stalking. Renew’s CEO said that he is applying the concept of cookies online. This means instead of tracking people’s browsing habits in the comfort of their own homes, he is tracking people’s movements on the streets in order to target them as consumers. Renew’s CEO also said that this was merely an experiment. While Renew defends itself by anonymising the data they obtain from users, the fact that they access people’s locations and then use the data defeats the purpose. Can you be very sure that they do not use your personal information when they can easily track your whereabouts? One such company that has experienced similar backlash to Renew is Nordstrom. Nordstrom, a well-known fashion retail store was accused of tracking phones while customers were at their stores. They tracked customers’ shopping habits which unsurprisingly made the shoppers angry. While I wonder of the fate of Renew and the interactive trash cans, I feel that the problem is not with the bins themselves or what they are capable of doing (invading users’ privacy). The real problem lies with the tackling of privacy issues. Rather than put the blame on these smartbins that seem to know wherever a user goes, perhaps the tackling of privacy issues should be enforced, given that this is the age of not only the Internet but also of Wifi-enabled devices. I am not sure if these bins will be put in Malaysia. If this was the case in Malaysia, I wonder what would happen. Would we be so paranoid to step out of the house? Would we ban ourselves from accessing the Internet just because someone was watching over us? I wonder…
There is no need to mention that these bins are not cheap – each unit costs a whopping 30 000 pounds! Yet, the company is confident that it can sell space to advertisers. While they usually advertise to competitors, local councils get to advertise too but they do not usually get much of screen time and are only entitled to one third of the time businesses get. Needless to say, public uproar ensued and there are now orders to stop the bins. While some did not mind the
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